Brave Face
by merderfan93
Summary: Formerly titled You Belong With Me. Set present day with Jack and Rose both having daughters. Read and Review please
1. Chapter 1

New fic I thought I'd try out. Set present day. Both Rose and Jack have a daughter. Jack's wife died during child birth and Rose's husband died of Tuberculosis and she is now engaged to Cal.

Disclaimer: I don't own Titanic.

"Emily" Rose Dewitt Bukater prodded her daughter on the morning of April 10th 2002.

"Emily sweetheart wake up" she said louder smiling slightly as her 15 year old swatted her with her hand and mumbled

"Too early" she groaned her voice muffled by the pillow.

Rose rolled her eyes and spoke again "honey if you don't wake up you'll miss the ship." They had been on a two month tour of Europe and today they were sailing home to America on _Titanic_ courtesy of her fiancée Caledon Hockley.

"Don't care, go without me" came the muffled reply. Rose rolled her eyes

"you leave me no choice" she smirked slightly as she grasped the covers and pulled them back her smile growing as her daughter jumped up and yelped in surprise.

"What did you do that for?!" she squealed hitting her mother with a pillow.

Rose immediately retaliated and before she knew it they were chasing each other around the room giggling uncontrollably as the dodged the pillows.

They were interrupted however by someone clearing there throat at the doorway.

"When you're quite finished" Ruth Dewitt Bukater snapped, making her disapproval obvious.

"Get dressed and come down to the parlour for breakfast. We leave in an hour" and with that she turned on her heel closing the door behind her.

Rose and Emily glance at each other before they dissolved into a fit of giggles.

Callie Dawson chewed her bottom lip nervously glancing out the window at _Titanic_, the grandest ship in the world.

She looked back down at the table in front of her, which was littered with money and various jewels, and her father who was holding a hand of cards his face giving away nothing.

"Daddy you're gambling with everything we have" she whispered

Jack leaned into her and took the cigarette out of his mouth blowing a puff of smoke. "When you got nothin' you got nothin' to lose" he murmured before turning back to the men in front of him.

Callie turned away unable to watch. Finally after what seemed like an eternity she heard her father jump up and yell "full house boys!"

She turned round and leapt into her father's open arms squealing in delight. "we're going home!" he yelled spinning her round.

The ship's horn sounded again and the two stared at each other before grabbing their stuff and running out the bar

Emily stepped out of the car and stared up at the ship before her in awe. She turned as she heard her mother's voice as she too got out of the car.

"I don't see what all the fuss is about, it doesn't look any bigger than the Mauritania" glancing at her daughter from underneath her huge purple hat, the pair shared a grin. She held out her arm to her daughter and they headed towards the gangplank as Cal boasted about the ship being unsinkable.

They walked up the gangplank and after giving there names they were led to their suite, which comprised of several rooms all with mahogany wood walls, Emily swore she could still smell paint.

The steward led them into the room that they would be sharing and left with a polite nod.

Rose sat down on the bed with a sigh and through her at across the room.

"Mama? Are you okay?"

"Rose looked up at her daughter with a sad smile and motioned for her to come and sit next to her.

Emily obliged and sat down beside her mother wrapping her arms around her in a tight hug

"I love you so much" her mother whispered into her hair as they rocked back and forth.

"I love you too Mama" she replied.

They sat like that for a few more minutes before Rose pulled back and quickly wiped a hand across her eyes.

"Well we'd better go unpack" she stated placing a quick kiss on her daughter's forehead before she left the room.

"Would you like all of them out?" Trudy asked referring to Rose's paintings.

Rose considered "Yes, we need a little colour in this room"

"Oh God not those finger paintings again" the all too familiar drawl of her fiancé came from the doorway "they certainly were a waste of money"

"The difference between Cal's taste in art and mine is that I have some" Rose stated dryly smirking at her daughter.

Emily smiled back but couldn't help thinking _its going to be a long trip._

_**So I realize it's a mistake when I have all these other ones on the go but I couldn't help myself. So there it is. More soon**_

_**Robyn**_


	2. Chapter 2

The next day as they were having lunch Emily watched her mother carefully. She was staring into space not seeing or hearing anything. Her jaw dropped and she was unsure weather to laugh or gasp as Rose pulled out a cigarette and lit it up.

"You know I don't like that Rose" Ruth whispered horrified

"She knows" Cal drawled taking the cigarette out of her hands and stubbing it. Emily felt her fists clench involuntarily pursing her lips she glared at Cal but she stopped when her mother caught her eye pleadingly.

She was further enraged a few moments later when Cal ordered for her only afterwards it occurred to him to ask her "You like lamb don't you sweet pea?" using the nickname she knew her mother despised.

"No she doesn't." Emily murmured through gritted teeth

"Emily" her mother warned

"What? You hate lamb!"

"Emily enough" Rose growled effectively ending the conversation.

The conversation continued with Bruce Ismay boasting about the size of Titanic.

Unable to listen to the pompous man brag anymore Rose turned to him "Do you know of a Doctor Freud Mr Ismay" she began in her best society voice "his ideas about the male preoccupation of size might be of particular interest to you"

Rose stood up and stormed out of the room ignoring her mother's protests she headed to the deck.

She stared out into the ocean feeling the familiar despair creeping into her.

_How did I get here?_ She wondered. A year ago she had been happy with the perfect husband and daughter living in Iowa and now, now she was engaged to a man she despised.

She continued stare out into the ocean until she got the uncomfortable feeling she was being watched.

Glancing down she noticed a steerage man staring at her intensely, it felt like he was bearing into her soul. She glanced back down and found that he was still staring at her.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity Cal came out of the café and the moment was lost

JRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJR

Callie smiled as she lay back on a deck chair and watched her father draw a father and daughter leaning against the railing.

"This ship is nice huh?" she commented lazily to the man sitting on the bench next to them

"Yeah it's an Irish built"

"Really? I thought it was English?"

"No 1500 Irish men built this ship, it's a solid as a rock" he boasted but rolled his eyes when a group of dogs walked passed them "well isn't that typical first class dogs come down here to take a shite"

Jack laughed "Ah it lets us know where we rank in the scheme of things."

"Like we could forget?" he commented dryly "I'm Tommy Ryan" he held out his hand.

"Jack Dawson."

"Callie" she mimicked

"Do you make any money with your drawings?" but Jack didn't answer. He was entranced by a woman on the deck above staring out into the ocean.

"Ah forget it boyo, you'd as like have angles come out of yer arse as getttin' next to the likes o her.

Callie rolled her eyes and waved her hand in front of her fathers face smirking when he showed know awareness.

_This is going to be a long trip_

That night Callie and her father lay on a bench on deck gazing at the stars lazily when they heard a woman run past them sobbing hysterically.

Frowning the stood up and followed her towards the stern of the ship. Callie watched in horror as the woman, she recognized vaguely as the one who her father had been so enthralled with early on in the day, gripped the lamp and climbed over the railing so that she was hanging over the edge.

Callie glanced frantically towards her father who immediately stepped forward and was about to open his mouth when the sound of running footsteps approached them.

Callie whipped her head round to find a girl about her age who liked identical to the woman who was currently hanging off the back of the ship. Perfect

"Mommy?!" the girl cried and Callie had to grab her arm firmly to stop her from running over to the woman who looked even more panicked, if that was even possible.

Callie shot the nameless girl a warning look as she listened to her father try to coax the woman back over the railing.

"You uh ever been to Wisconsin?"

"What?" the woman stared at her father like he was insane and in this moment Callie had to agree with her.

"Well they have some of the coldest winters around and I remember when I was a kid me and my father we used to go ice fishing out on Lake Wissota" _oh here we go._

"What the hell is he doing?" the girl next to her hissed. Crap she had forgotten she was there. "My mother is hanging off the back of a freaking ship and he's talking about ice fishing?!"

"Just go with it okay. He's getting there." She hissed back but was interrupted by the woman's terrified scream.

Without thinking she ran to the stern and grabbed the arm that her father wasn't holding and between the two of them they managed to pull her over, all of them landing on the deck her father landing on top of her in a very compromising position.

Later that night Emily was laying in bed staring at the ceiling pondering on the nights events when her mother knocked on the door quietly

"Emily, are you still awake?" she asked softly making her way over to the bed

"Hmm" she murmured raising herself up on her elbows as Rose sat on the edge of the bed.

"What's up mama?"

"Rose opened her hand and dropped a heavy necklace into her daughter's outstretched palm.

"My God, it's hideous" she breathed fingering the heart shape.

Rose laughed somewhat bitterly "I know, he thinks it'll get me to open my heart to him" she quoted rolling her eyes. No need to ask who_ he_ was.

Emily laughed "yeah like that's the way to do it" her voice laced with sarcasm.

The pair laughed before they lapsed into an uncomfortable silence neither wanting to bring up what had happened earlier in the evening.

"Emily, about what happened…" Rose began but Emily cut her off.

"Mom you don't have to…"

"Yes I do" Rose interrupted her voice soft but firm "I was scared, the thought of marrying him. It just got too much for me and just for a second I wanted to take the easy way out. It was stupid and cowardly and I'm sorry" she whispered her voice slightly chocked.

"Oh mom, it's okay" she whispered "just promise me you won't do it again?" she begged "I don't know what I'd do without you?" she breathed her voice breaking.

"Oh honey" Rose breathed cursing herself for being so irresponsible "I promise."

**A/N: So I realise this was a very long, slightly boring chapter but I wanted to get as much done as possible before I got into the real story. Next chapter will be the 1****st**** class dinner and the steerage party.**


	3. Chapter 3

Callie and Emily stood in front of Emily's expansive wardrobe. Callie turned to her, her mouth agape

"Seriously? This is your closet?" She doubted she had seen this many clothes in her entire life.

Emily nodded and started flipping through the dresses "Yup. Okay we need to find you something spectacular to wear for dinner tonight." Cal had invited her and Jack to dinner with them in the first class after the incident with Rose the night before and after talking on deck it had been decided that Callie would borrow something from Emily.

Callie's eyes widened and she took a step back shaking her head "Oh no no no. I see what's going on here. There is no way that I'm getting into one of those things."

Emily rolled her eyes "Come on. You have to if you want to have dinner with us. And you have to have dinner with us Callie, I'm begging you. I can't suffer through another one of those awful dinners again by myself"

"Why can't I just go with in what I'm wearing?"

Emily raised an eyebrow and surveyed her ripped jeans and old sweater and baseball cap.

"You cannot have dinner with these people dressed like that. Come on why don't we find something simple" she grabbed her arm and pulled her towards the closet and grabbed a silk blue gown "See, like this one, its simple, understated and it would really bring out your eyes"

Callie sighed defeated and grabbed the dress

Rose couldn't help but smile at the sight that awaited her as she walked into the stateroom she was sharing with her daughter. Callie was on a chair, wearing one of Emily's dresses, and Emily was bent down in front of her trying to put make up on her.

"Come on, just a little bit please"

"No! I am not letting you put that gunk on my face" Callie protested loudly.

Rose cleared her throat and both girls looked up surprised, having not noticed her presence.

"Oh mama! I didn't hear you come in. Will you help me? She's being so stubborn"

"Hello! I'm right here, can we stop talking about me like I'm not here" Callie huffed, her voice indignant.

"well if you would just cooperate we could be done by now" Emily spat sticking her tongue out at her, which Callie returned.

Rose rolled her eyes, sensing what was going to happen she intervened and grabbed the brush off her daughter " Come on now girls, lets at least try to act like mature young ladies. Now Callie how about just a little bit of make up to enhance your features" She sat down in front of her and brushed some eye shadow over her eye lid before giving her the chance to respond.

Callie opened her mouth to respond but decided against it and within moments Rose had finished and was leading her over to the mirror "There. How's that?"

"Not bad" Callie admitted "At least I don't look like a whore"

"You definitely don't look like a whore. Now what should we do about the hair?" Emily asked her mother.

"What about the hair?" Callie asked nervously

"Well should we put it up or down" Emily took the baseball cap off and let her long golden hair fall down her back.

"My God" Emily breathed.

"It's incredible" Rose said Emily nodded "Seems a shame to put it up. What'd do you think mom?"

"Hmm I'm not sure. What about if we pull the front back a bit so its off her face" She took some of her hair and demonstrated. Callie rolled her eyes

"Whatever leave it down, put it up, what the hell difference does it make?"

"It makes a difference" they both replied simultaneously whilst doing God only knew what to her hair. Callie huffed and rolled her eyes it was going to be a long night.

An hour later Jack stood at the bottom of the Grand Staircase in the tux he'd borrowed from Molly Brown. He shifted uncomfortably and glanced up the stairs, turning round fully when he recognised his daughter making her way down the steps.

His jaw dropped as she came closer to him. A dress! His little girl, his tomboy who hadn't worn a dress since she was five –with the exception of her mother's funeral- was wearing a full length ball gown and… was that high heels?

Finally she made it to the bottom step "Don't even say it"

Jack pretended to look surprised "Say what? I wasn't going to say anything."

"Yeah right" Callie scoffed before eyeing her father with a smirk "You look like a penguin."

"Gee thanks Callie. Always nice to receive a compliment"

"Are you still complaining about that goddammed dress?" Emily's voice exclaimed from behind them" she made her way to the bottom of the steps and pressed a light kiss on Jack's cheek "You look great Mr Dawson"

"Jack please"

"Jack" Emily nodded "She's the most stubborn person I've ever met" she turned round just in time to see Callie pulling faces behind her back "And mature" she rolled her eyes.

"Come on let's go to the dining room" she grabbed Callie's wrist and dragged her towards the dining room "Mom's on her way" she called over her shoulder.

Jack watched them go laughing silently to himself when Callie tripped and cursed under her breath.

He turned back to the staircase and blinked as he saw Rose standing at the top, he could've sworn his heart stopped beating. She looked magnificent, wearing a floor length orange and black beaded gown and her firey red hair in an intricate up do. He swallowed as she came towards him smiling almost disbelievingly and met her on the bottom step and grabbed the hand that she held out for him and kissed the top of her hand.

"Saw that in a movie once and I always wanted to do it" he chuckled his heart pounding as she giggled.

After talking to Cal- who Jack had decided that he really didn't like- they made their way into the dining room.

They were near the table when Rose grabbed Emily's arm and pulled her back.

"Ouch Mom, what?"

"No sneaking away this time Emily" she hissed under her breath

Emily put on her best innocent face "Me? Sneak away?"

Rose rolled her eyes "I meant it Emily. I cannot handle the grief from my mother again"

"fine, fine" Emily sighed grabbing Callie and pulling her away "You sneak away?"

"I'll show you later"

"And where is your wife Mr Dawson" Callie groaned inwardly, the dreaded question, the woman had been firing questions at her father throughout the entire meal, who to his credit had been handling them with his usual confidence and decorum, but this was the one question that he never handled very well. Understandable given the circumstances surrounding her mother's death.

"She uh, she passed away about four years ago"

Callie fought the urge to scoff; she had stopped using the phrase "passed away". It didn't fit with what happened, her father insisted on using it though. Not that it was something they ever discussed.

"Oh God Jack I'm so sorry" Rose murmured her eyes full of pity, she cringed when Emily echoed the sentiment. She hated the looks of pity she always got when people learned of her mothers death, hated people feeling sorry for her.

The conversation moved on until she heard Emily drop one of her many forks, beside her "Oops! Clumsy me! Callie would you help me look for it please" she smirked subtly and Callie grinned dropping down beside her, catching a glimpse of the disdainful looks Ruth and Rose shot their way.

They were both desperately trying to stifle their giggles as they dropped to their knees and crawled quickly under the table and out of sight.

They both erupted into laughter as they crashed out on deck, passed a bewildered steward, leaning against the rail. "Oh God" Emily gasped breathlessly "Did you see the look on my grandmothers face"

"Yeah, what a witch" she giggled though it was slightly forced, the conversation about her mother still playing on her mind.

Emily sobered and straightened up "I'm sorry about the things she said to you"

Callie waved her hand dismissively "Oh don't worry about it. I'm used to it"

"I'm still sorry"

"So, what'd you wanna do now?"

"Well, there's a party down below decks and I promised Cora a dance, I don't know if you wanna…"

"Oh can we go" Emily asked eagerly, her eyes lighting up.

Jack grinned as Rose met him at the top of the grand staircase "So, you wanna go to a real party?"

"Oh, a real party? Are you saying that my crowd isn't riveting enough for you?"

Jack just grabbed her hand and led her towards third class common room. Rose's eyes widened as she took in the sight around her, Groups of people filled the room, seemingly of all different races. It didn't take her long to spot her daughter's flaming red hair. She was standing at a high table, a young girl sitting on it, talking animatedly.

Jack shot her a grin and lead her over to the table. "Mama! You're here!" Emily squealed, throwing her arms around her.

Rose laughed and returned the hug "I'm here."

Jack appeared at her elbow and handed her a glass of beer, she took it gratefully and took a large glug and sighed with relief. She glanced around her, barely hiding a grin at the look of shock on Jack's face

"What you think a first class girl can't drink?" she raised an eyebrow. Jack just grinned and sipped from his own beer.

"Where's Callie?" he asked Emily who had been watching the exchange with a grin

"Uh I think she said she was going to get changed" Jack rolled his eyes

"I'm amazed you even got her into a dress, she hasn't worn one since she was five, and even that was a stuggle"

"Yeah well it wasn't easy."

It was at that moment that Callie walked up to them, carrying a tray with various plates and condiments on it, wearing her usual attire of jeans and a sweater

"Alright here we go"

"Oh God" Emily groaned and grabbed a hotdog, pouring a generous amount of ketchup and mustard on it before taking a bite "Hmm that is so good"

"Yeah. Better than that crap they serve you upstairs. What is with the portion sizes?"

"Oh God I know, when we first started this whole charade I had to go out and have pizza after dinner, I was always starving"

"What whole charade?" Callie asked

Emily opened her mouth to reply but was cut off when her mother kicked her under the table and shot her a warning look.

"Hey! Cora want to dance?" Callie asked the little girl as another song came on. Cora grinned jumped off the table. "Come on Emily" she grabbed Emily's hand and the trio made their way out to the dance floor.

"You alright?" Jack asked noticing the pain that had entered Rose's eyes as she watched Emily

She nodded and looked around the room, her eyes landing on the bar "fine, but I could use a real drink." She walked over to the bar and perched on a stool "Two tequila shots please" She shot Jack a grin as the barman put the shots in front of them, and slid one in his direction.

Jack winced "None for me thanks, never been much of a tequila drinker myself"

"Oh come on Jack, don't be a wuss"

Jack rolled his eyes and grabbed the glass bringing it slowly to his lips "You're worse than Callie."

He downed the shot wincing as the liquid burned his throat.

Rose did the same and sighed with pleasure, he couldn't help but stare at her. She really was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. He was taken by the sudden urge to know everything about her, or at least a little bit. He had conveniently pushed the fact that she was engaged to the back of his mind.

"So, Rose, tell me. What do you do?"

"Well, once upon a time I worked in publishing. Seems like forever ago now" she mused, more to herself than him/

"What about you?"

"I have a friend in Los Angeles who I send my artwork to and he sells it for me"

Jack put his glass back on the bar and held his hand out to her as the celidh band began.

"May I have this dance?" he asked in an over exaggerated accent.

Rose smiled and took his outstretched hand, her heart rate increasing as they touched "You may" she replied equally haughtily.

**Hoping 2000+ words and six pages makes up for the lack of updates. I'm trying not to rewrite the movie, all the bits I miss out are the same as they happened in the film. Let me know what you think.**


	4. Chapter 4

Emily pressed her ear up against the door of the exit to the promenade deck, sucking in a breath. Her mother and Cal were arguing about last night she couldn't hear exactly what they were saying but she knew it was bad.

Suddenly there was a loud crash and she caught a glimpse of the table as it overturned and its contents spilled on the floor.

She took a step back covering her mouth with her trembling hand. She turned on her heel and ran out of the suite as her mother's maid rushed towards the deck. She took the elevator down to the lower decks and frantically tried to remember where Callie had taken her last night.

Eventually she found herself in the common room, she spied them somewhere in the middle of the room. Jack was working on a sketch and Callie had young Cora on her lap, telling her one of her stories she assumed. Taking a deep breath she made her way over to them. It was Callie who looked up and saw her first.

"Emily! What are you doing here? Is everything alright?" She sounded concerned as she took in Emily's demeanour. Jack had stopped drawing and was also looking at her intently. She opened her mouth to say something but the only thing that came out was a sob as she burst into tears. Callie jumped up and led her to the bench, rubbing her back soothingly "Ssh it's okay"

"It's not okay!" she cried aware of how desperately pathetic she sounded "she's gonna marry that…" she couldn't finish the sentence as another wave of sobs took over her. Jack appeared at her other side and handed her a glass of water. "Take deep breaths" eventually she managed to take a breath and took a sip of the water."

"Now, tell us what's wrong" Callie said softly

"Oh God it was awful. Mom and Cal were having breakfast and he… he overturned the table."

"Oh God, is she okay?" Jack asked, sounding concerned.

"I think so I kinda just ran." She took a deep breath and turned to Jack "You have to do something"

He blinked surprised "Me? What do you mean?"

"I mean you can't let her marry that man!" she jumped up and paced back in forth in front of the bench

"If she doesn't want to marry him why is she engaged to him?" Callie asked, confused

"My grandmother's forcing her to. My grandfather died last year and left her with a bunch of debts and the only way she can maintain her precious lifestyle is if my mother marries him. It's all convenience really. Especially seeing as she wanted nothing to do with her or me all those years after my father left"

"You're father left?" Jack asked

"Yeah. When I was a baby. We haven't seen or heard from her since. And my grandmother stopped talking to my mother after she married him, until of course she needed her"

"My God that's awful"

"So you see, you have to help. You have to stop her from marrying him"

Jack stared at her with wide eyes resembling something like a deer caught in headlights "But I don't understand what could I possibly do?"

Beside her Callie let out a scoff and roller her eyes "My God you really are clueless aren't you? We watched you two last night, you're totally in love with her"

Jack faltered "What? What the hell are you talking about?"

Another eye roll "You are in love with her" she spoke slowly as if talking to a young child "It was obvious from the way you were dancing with her. You haven't been that close to another woman… person since mom died. Even when mom was alive I don't remember you ever looking at her like you did Rose"

"Which is why" she continued "You have to stop her from marrying that jackass"

"But what can I do? She's engaged to him."

"Oh for God's sake, hold a radio over your head outside her window, fight for her honour I don't care just do something."

Still Jack didn't move, he couldn't deny his feelings for Rose, but it was complicated. And he was still recovering from his last complicated relationship. Not that he would ever admit that to anyone.

"For God's sake do I have to hold your hand? Go up there and profess your undying love for her!"

That was apparently the push that he needed, as he was heading up the stairs before she could even process it.

**I've changed the storyline a little in the form of what happened to Rose and Jack's respective spouses for reasons, which will become clear as the story progresses. Or at least as long as there's interest in it.**


	5. Chapter 5

Emily and Callie peeked through the doorway at Jack and Rose. Rose had just asked Jack to draw her wearing the Heart Of The Ocean, only the Heart Of The Ocean.

Emily was pretty sure she was going to throw up. Callie was pretty sure the look on her father's face was the funniest thing she'd ever seen. Both were making a conscious effort not to look at each other for fear of bursting into laughter.

They watched as Rose stood in front of Jack wearing a kimono. For a horrible moment Emily knew exactly what was about to happen and there was nothing she could do about it, except stop watching. But for whatever reason she couldn't bring herself to stop watching.

So she watched as Rose lowered the kimono and revealed herself. She opened her mouth and let out a small squeak. Jack and Rose didn't seem to notice the noise, as Callie slapped a hand over her mouth to silence her.

Thankfully, there was a door leading from Emily's bedroom to the corridor, so Callie grabbed her arm and dragged her through it.

They collapsed on the floor of the corridor in a stunned silence but it wasn't long before they burst out laughing.

"Well, that's two more years of therapy."

Callie snorted "Did you see the look on my dad's face?"

"Oh, my God I can't believe I just saw my mother naked."

Callie slapped her knee and pushed herself up off the floor "Trust me there are worse ways to see your mother. At least she's alive."

Emily frowned as she too pushed herself off the floor and stood beside Callie.

"Oh God don't give me the look." Callie groaned

"What look? What are you talking about?"

"The dead mommy look. You know, the look people get when they discover my mother's dead. It's even worse when they find out she killed herself."

"Oh God, Callie I'm so sorry."

"Don't be sorry. It's not your fault. Plus it was a long time ago I'm totally over it." Emily got the impression that she wasn't as over it as she said but decided it was best not to push the matter.

"Where are we going?" Emily asked, as they made their way below decks. She vaguely recognised the route as the same one they'd taken the night before.

"To pick up Jake and your dress from last night."

"What's Jake?"

Callie rolled her eyes "What's Jake she asks" there was a pause as she let them into the room, grateful that they were alone. "Jake is my novel" she reached under the bed and pulled out a notebook.

"You're writing a novel?"

"Yup. It's gonna be the next Great Gatsby." She said proudly, sitting on the bottom bunk.

"Oh I love that book. Can I read it?"

0000000

A couple of hours later Emily headed back up to first class. She grinned as she saw her mother and Jack ahead of her, clutching hands.

Her smile quickly faded to a frown as she saw Lovejoy slip the Heart of The Ocean into Jack's pocket.

What the hell was going on? She wasn't sure, but she was pretty sure Cal had something to do with it.

She stepped forward and lifted the necklace back out of the pocket as the pair stepped into the stateroom, where Cal and her grandmother were waiting. Though thankfully they hadn't noticed her yet.

She waited until Cal ordered the Master at Arms to hold up the necklace "Is this what you're looking for?"

Everyone in the room turned to look at her, noticing her for the first time it seemed. Her mom and Jack looked confused. So did Cal for that matter she noticed. It would have been funny had the situation been different.

"Wh-where did you get that?" Cal demanded.

"I saw Lovejoy slip it into Jack's pocket while he wasn't looking" she informed them. Cal's face turned from confusion to pure fury in a matter of seconds. He moved towards her, probably to hit her, she realised with a twinge of fear. The Master at Arms opened his mouth to stop him but Jack got there first and gabbed Cal's wrist which was raised mid air. "Don't even think about it" his voice was low and threatening.

"H-how dare you speak to me in such an impudent manner you filth!" The Master at Arms rolled his eyes and excused himself just as a steward entered the room ordering them to put on their life jackets.

"What's going on?" For the rest of her life she would never forget the fear that filled her with her mother's statement "The ship's hit an iceberg sweetie" try as she might she couldn't hide the fear in her voice.

"Oh God." That must have been the shudder she had felt on her way back up the stairs. She felt Rose pull her in to a tight hug "honey, its okay. Just go and put some warm clothes on okay?"

Emily nodded still feeling dazed "Hey Emily. Were you with Callie?" Jack asked as she turned to walk away.

"Yes, I left her in third class about 15 minutes ago" she told him.

"Okay" Jack nodded turning to Rose and grabbing her arm "I'm gonna go see if I can find her. Will you be okay?" he asked glancing in the direction that Cal had left.

"I'll be fine" Rose smiled reassuringly placing her hand on his cheek. The truth was she didn't really want him to leave. What if she never saw him again? But she quickly chastised herself. Of course he needed to find his daughter. She was more important.

0000

Twenty minutes later she was standing on the deck beside the life boat, Emily clutching her hand nervously, Mr Andrews' words still ringing in her ears.

_The ship will sink_.

She was pulled from her reverie when Jack appeared at her elbow looking concerned. "Did you find her?" She immediately cursed herself for asking such a stupid question. Of course he hadn't found her. She would be with him if he had found her. And he wouldn't be looking so worried.

"No. A steward sent me back" his voice was laced with worry and she could tell he was having an internal battle. Should he go back?

They were interrupted when a steward grabbed Emily and placed her in the lifeboat and moved to grab Rose. It was only then that she heard the officer.

_Women and children only. _

Fear cursed through her as she turned to Jack. He wouldn't be allowed on the boat. Oh my God. He wouldn't be allowed on. She was going to lose him. She couldn't lose him. They'd only just found each other.

She needn't have worried however, because it was at that moment that Officer Lowe realised that the boat was filled with women. Women who had most likely never rowed a boat in their lives. He turned to Jack.

"You there. Can you sail?"

Jack was stunned "Uh I guess." He stammered. Lowe nodded "Climb aboard then."

He grabbed his arm and pulled him on the boat before he full had a chance to process it. He couldn't be on the boat. What about Callie? He needed to find her.

All he was aware of was Rose squeezing his hand reassuringly as the lifeboat landed in the water with a splash. Taking them away from the doomed ship.

The doomed ship, still carrying his daughter.


	6. Chapter 6

She knew it was going to happen before it did but that did nothing to lessen the shock. She watched in horror as the man, Tommy, fell to the floor, blood pouring out from his chest and mouth. The crowd behind her let out a scream and Cora began wailing in her arms and tightened her arms round her neck.

Her chest tightened and she felt herself begin to panic. No. She couldn't freak out now. She had to get them to safety. But how? The lifeboats were all gone and the water around them was slowly rising as the bow tipped deeper into the freezing water.

Cora shifted in her arms and began crying for her father. When they had finally managed to fight their way through the gates from steerage Bert Cartmell had handed her the young girl, claiming that he was a poor swimmer and would only hold them back. So that was were she found herself. On a sinking ship in the middle of the North Atlantic with terrified five year old girl in her arms. Great.

She hadn't seen her father since he had gone in search of Rose, and part of her was vaguely aware that he had probably made it on to a lifeboat. After all he was only her father? Why should he risk his life for her when he had found himself a perfect new girlfriend and daughter without all the dead mommy abandonment issues?

She looked around frantically, searching for what to do now. The ship was sinking from the bow which meant that her best bet was the stern. She glanced up in the direction of the stern and put a still crying Cora down, causing the child to cry harder

"Cora, listen to me. I know you're scared but I need you to work with me here okay? We're gonna have to try and get to the stern of the ship 'cause it's going to stay out of the water the longest okay?"

Cora nodded and she grabbed her hand and began leading her through the crowds of people to the back of the ship. The ship seemed to be rising faster than she could fight her way up past the desperate passengers trying to get to safety and dodging those who lost their grip and slid down the deck to the deathly water.

Finally, she managed to pull them both up to the rail. The ship was almost at a 45 degree angle now and the water was rising towards them faster than ever. She swallowed, there was no escaping it. Pretty soon the ship would be entirely submerged and they would all be plunged into the icy depths. She could feel the panic rising in her chest. She wasn't ready to die, not like this. She had been through too much to die now. There was still so much she wanted to do….

Then she was struck by a sudden determination as she pulled Cora over the railing. No. She was not going to die.

000000000

Jack could only gape as the ship sank further into the water and the lights flickered off. He could've sworn he could hear Callie's screams above all the desperate screams coming from the ship. His stomach rolled and he could feel the bile rising in his throat.

Oh my God.

What had he done? How could he have left her on that ship? What kind of a cowardly bastard was he? He shifted, seriously considering jumping off the boat and swimming to the ship. He had to help her. She had to live. She was all he had left. Oh my God.

He was pulled from his panic when he felt a gentle hand on his shoulder.

Rose.

He forced his gaze away from the ship and to her face. He could barely see her face in the dark but he could just about make out a smile and it offered him a little comfort.

It didn't last long though as his gaze was soon brought back to the sinking ship. The sinking ship that his daughter was still on.

He watched in horror as the ship broke in half. He prayed that she had known to go to the stern. The front of the ship disappeared below the water and the rear end bobbed vertically for a few moments. He could vaguely here the cries of hope coming from the people still on board, thinking that they were saved, but he knew better.

Seconds later the ship disappeared below the surface

000000

Callie gasped as she surfaced. The water was freezing, she could feel it seeping into her body and her legs were already beginning to feel numb. But she had to keep kicking. She had to live.

Hundreds of people around her cried out, from cold, from fear. She looked around frantically for Cora, they had been separated under the water. She found her a few feet away but realised, to her horror, that she was being used as a life raft by an older man, who was pushing her back under the water.

She swam over to them and punched him off her and grabbed her hand.

"Come on Cora you need to swim! I need you to swim okay?"

She looked around and tried to find something to get them out of the water. And then she saw it.

A piece of wood, floating in the water, that had yet to be claimed. She swam over to it and urged a crying Cora onto it "Go on sweetie, get on" her teeth were chattering now as she felt colder and colder. She waited until Cora was settled before attempting to pull herself on. But she barely had the top half of her body on before the wood tipped throwing them both off.

"Okay Cora, sweetie you get back on it okay?" she made sure that the little girl was settled before she balanced her chin on the edge of the wood and reached for her hand.

"It's gonna be okay Cora. The boats are gonna come get us. They just had to get out of the way of the suction but then they'll come back and get us.

She was so cold, every word was an effort and her body was numb. But she had to live. She was not going to die. She just had to wait on the boats coming back.

"I'm so cold" Cora whined her voice was growing weak and Callie squeezed her hand with the little energy she had left.

"I know sweetie, me too but it won't be long"

She had no idea how much time had passed. The screams around her were growing quieter and her eye lids were growing heavy, she could almost feel her body shutting down as cold seeped into her.

000000

Cora was cold. The people that had been screaming were nearly silent and she could barely feel Callie's hand in her own. She really wanted her daddy and her dolly. She didn't know were they were and she missed them. She didn't want to be cold anymore.

Callie hadn't said anything in a while and her eyes were shut. She tried to turn her head but her hair was stuck to the board.

When she finally turned her head she saw a light far away. The boats! They had come back for them just like Callie had said! They would save them and they could find her daddy and they would be warm again!

The light was getting further away, the boats were going away! "She forced her body round so she could see Callie, and tried to wake her up "

"Callie" she was so cold that she could barely hear her own voice. She stretched her arm out, even though it was really sore and tried to wake her up, the boat was getting further away "Callie, Callie there's a boat" finally Callie's eyes opened, only a little bit though. "Callie there's a boat!" it really hurt to speak now.

"That's great can you try and get their attention sweetie?" Callie's voice was even quieter than hers.

"Come back!" she called in the direction of the light, but her voice was really quiet so they couldn't hear her "come back!" she tried again but it was no use. "they're not coming!" she cried, though it was more of a whisper.

The slimmer of hope Callie had felt was slowly dissipating. She had lost all feeling in her body and her eyes were heavy with exhaustion. She wanted to so badly just to fall asleep. But she couldn't, not now, not after having made it this far.

With every ounce of energy she had left she moved her head slightly to the right and tried to figure out a way to get the boat's attention, then she saw it. An officer a few feet away had a whistle in his mouth. He appeared to be dead, the whistle frozen to his lips.

"Cora" her breath was more than a whisper now "you're gonna have to swim to the officer and blow the whistle and tell them I'm here can you do that for me sweetie"

With great effort Cora shimmied her frozen body of the board and fell into the even colder water with a splash and let out a surprised gasp. It was so cold it made it hard to move but she couldn't let the boat go away.

Finally she reached the officer, grabbed the whistle and blew, though it was more of a squeak

"that's great Cora keep blowing" Callie whispered though she wasn't sure she could hear her. Her eyes were so heavy and it was getting really hard to concentrate she wanted to sleep so badly… just for a little while.

The next thing she knew she was being pulled into the lifeboat and wrapped in layered of blankets by a pair of strong hands. A pair of familiar hands.

With an effort she moved her head and recognised her father's worried eyes as he pulled her close.

That was her last conscious thought before darkness overcame her.

I decided during my months of hiatus to focus more on Callie's point of view for this story. While Jack and Rose's story will have a prominent part I'm having fun developing her character and also as time goes on, her relationship with Jack. In the movie and most fics he's presented as a saint like figure almost, a knight in shining armour if you will and while I loved the character I wanted to try and write him from a different view point and felt that Callie would be the most obvious way to do so. For reasons which will become obvious later on….

**Okay, ramble over. Phew. **

**Review please?**


	7. Chapter 7

Rose ran along the deck of the Carpathia Emily close at her heels. She hadn't seen Jack since he had gone with Officer Lowe to try and find survivors. To try and find Callie.

It was daylight now, she wasn't sure exactly what time but it had been hours since the Titanic had sank.

She saw an officer and asked him to direct her to the Infirmary. She followed his directions and finally found herself at the makeshift hospital onboard the ship. It didn't take her long to find Jack. He was standing in front of the doors looking through the window, looking… broken. Behind him there was a little girl sitting on the bench wrapped in several blankets

"Cora!" Emily gasped running over to her and wrapping her arms around the little girl's shivering form.

Meanwhile she made her way over to Jack and placed a hand on his shoulder, careful not to startle him.

He made no move to acknowledge her presence, just kept staring through the windows, unabashed tears streaming down his face. When she finally made herself look she could see why.

Callie was on a bed surrounded by several doctors one of whom was shocking her heart. She gasped as she watched her body rise off the bed and fall once again as she was shocked again as the doctor treating her barked orders at the others.

Oh God this was not good.

She was shocked again and Rose sucked in a breath as she watched the heart monitor, praying it would show signs of life but it never did. There was a moment of silence as the world seemed to stop, the only sound coming from the flat line of the heart monitor.

Suddenly, the door was pushed open and before anyone had a chance to react Cora ran into the room stopping at the edge of the bed, grabbing Callie's limp hand in her own.

"Do it again." Her voice was weak after her exposure to the cold, but no less determined.

No one said anything as they all looked from Cora to Callie hopelessly. Jack let out a desperate sob.

"Do it again" something in her voice seemed to persuade the doctor as he placed the defibrillator to her chest and shocked her again. There was a moment of silence before the heart monitor beeped once, showing signs of life before it showed a regular rhythm.

Everyone in the room let out a collective sigh of relief as Jack fell to his knees sobbing. She was alive.

Rose immediately fell to her knees and wrapped her arms around him rocking him back and forth, whispering soothing words in his ear.

"M…my b…baby" he sobbed, his clenched fist moving to his mouth.

"She's alive Jack, she'll be okay" she whispered kissing his hair.

The doctor who had worked on her made his way over to them "Mr Dawson?"

Jack stared up at the doctor with wide eyes for a moment before he stood on shaky legs and furiously wiped his cheeks.

"As you can see she's alive, but she's not out of the woods yet. She's still at high risk for pneumonia and hypothermia, it would really help us if we knew what conditions she has been in"

"I… I don't know… I pulled her out of the water" he trailed of with a sob "Cora.." all eyes were on the little girl and she shrank under the scrutiny and moved closer to Callie whimpering slightly as she tried to hide her face.

Emily stepped forward kneeling down so she was at eye level with her and placed her hands gently on her shoulders "Sweetie" she pushed her damp, matted hair away from her face and gently turned her to face her "we need to know what happened?"

Cora said nothing though her bottom lip trembled and her eyes filled with tears.

Emily tried again "Sweetie, I know you're scared but it would really help us if you could tell us what happened when the ship… were you in the water? Did you find something to hold onto?"

At this Cora nodded emphatically but still didn't say anything. Emily glanced at the doctor before she tried again "so you weren't in the water for very long?" she nodded her head "was Callie out of the water too then?" this time she shook her head

"Oh god" Jack breathed.

"So you weren't in the water for very long but Callie was?"

Another nod and she ducked her head not making any eye contact.

"Okay sweetie, you've been really brave and we're all so proud of you okay, I'm gonna go see if I can find your Mommy and Daddy" Cora looked up hopefully "I'll be right back okay" she whispered kissing her forehead.

She stood up and moved towards the adults who were talking in hushed whispers "I'm going to go see if I can find her parents"

Rose wrapped her arms around her "will you be okay? Do you want me to go with you?

Emily shook her head, "no I'll be fine, I'd like to be alone"

After searching any survivors lists she could get her hands on it seemed that Cora's parents hadn't survived. Swallowing back tears she collapsed onto a bench on the deck.

So many people had died for what? How many more children had been left parentless? How many parents had lost children?

The sobs she had been fighting against shook her body as she cried for those lost. She lost track of how long she sat like that, rocking back and forth on the bench, until a disturbance from the other end of the deck pulled her out of her reverie

"You won't find any of your people down here, they're all steerage" a steward informed the very well dressed man who was making his way down the steps but it didn't seem to deter him as he waved his hand dismissively and continued making his way through the crowds on deck.

Emily gasped when she realised who it was.

Cal

Oh God what would she do now? Was it to late to make a run for it? Had he seen her?

She really wished her mother were here.

During her internal rambling Cal had managed to make his way across the deck and was standing glaring at her contemptuously.

She took a deep breath. If Callie and Cora could survive a night in the freezing Atlantic Ocean then she could sure as hell handle a confrontation with her mother's ex-fiancé.

She stood. "You survived then? How unfortunate" Holy crap, where had that come from?

"Where is your whore of a mother? With that gutter rat I assume?" he said gutter rat with more contempt than she had ever thought possible.

"She's with Jack yes. His daughter was in the water, she barely survived" her heart was pounding in her chest but she fought hard to keep her tone even.

Cal rolled his eyes "Well where is she? Its about time I made her see sense"

Emily scoffed "Pardon me for saying that I think she is finally beginning to see sense. I don't know what she was doing getting engaged to a rich soulless bastard like you in the first place"

There was a moment of silence as Cal's face contorted with anger and Emily cursed herself for being so stupid before Cal raised his hand and slapped her so hard across the face she swore she could see stars.

A few of the surrounding passengers gasped and an office hurried over to them "is there a problem over here?" he glanced suspiciously between the pair. Emily raised her hand to her stinging cheek and shook her head before she turned and ran back in the direction of the infirmary tears stinging in the back of her eyes.

Finally she made it to the infirmary and ran through the doors slamming it shut before she leaned her back against it and slid to the floor gasping for breath still clutching her stinging cheek.

"Emily?" she opened her eyes and found her mother standing above her staring down at her, concern obvious in her eyes. "Emily sweetheart what's wrong"

"Nothing" she breathed, standing up and rubbing her hands over her face "Nothing I just got a little emotional is all" a look at her mother told her she didn't believe her for a second, Rose always knew when she was lying.

"No, your cheek is all red" Emily hissed in pain as she ran her thumb over it "Oh my God did someone hit you?"

"What? No! I just fell asleep on a bench and leant on my hand"

"Emily Calvert, you're lying. Someone hit you now tell me who it was"

Jack had stood up now and was also looking at her curiously as he reached for Rose's hand.

She swallowed hard "Cal" she whispered. Rose sucked in a breath and there was a look of fury in her eyes that Emily had never seen before, it scared her more than a little.

Rose was out the door before either of them had a chance to react. Jack and Emily exchanged a nervous glance before they headed out behind her.

"Mom! Mom slow down, seriously its not a big deal. It was my own fault really, I said something stupid and it pissed him off Mom!"

"Rose maybe you should stop and take a second to think before you do something you're regret…"

But it was too late she had already made her way to the First Class Dining Room and was storming through the doors. She stopped for a second scanning around the room before her eyes landed on Cal and her mother sat at a table. She strode over to them furiously, almost knocking over a waiter..

"Hockley!" she yelled so loudly Ruth jumped nearly spilling her tea.

If Cal was surprised he hid it well "Ah sweetpea you've returned, finally seen sense I hope"

Rose seethed "who the hell do you think you are? Laying a hand on my daughter?" she hissed.

"I have no idea what you're talking about sweetpea, I think the shock has gotten to you, let me take you back to our stateroom so you can recover"

"The hell I'm going anywhere with you, you smug bastard. It's one thing to mess with me but to turn on my daughter? You really are the scum of the earth."

Cal's face twisted with anger "I'd think twice about you speak to me _sweetpea _you seem to forget that without me you and your precious daughter would be on the streets"

"And you seem to forget _darling _that I survived for sixteen years without your help so you can take your money and shove it up-

"Rose" Jack whispered "you may want to think about what you're saying" he cautioned squeezing her shoulder trying to remove some of the. Rose exhaled and glanced around the room as she suddenly realised where exactly she was.

"You can rest assured Mr Hockley that the engagement is off and if you come near me or my family again I will have you arrested for harassment" she said quietly slipping the large diamond engagement ring and resting it on the table before she turned and left the dining room her head held high.

"That was… impressive" Jack said softly as she leant against the wall breathing deeply.

Rose let out a laughing breath "Thanks" she turned to Emily and grabbed her hand "are you okay sweetie?" Emily nodded "thanks mama"

Rose smiled and pulled her into a warm hug "Oh sweetie, you don't need to thank me, I'm your mother, it's my job to protect you" they hugged in silence for a few moments, Jack watching awkwardly, until Rose pulled away

"We should get back to the infirmary and check on Callie".

When they got back to the infirmary they found Callie thrashing on the bed and crying out, seemingly in her sleep while Cora watched tears streaming down her face.

"Oh Mr Dawson thank goodness you're here!" the doctor exclaimed when they entered "she's fighting the sedation do you think you could calm her down?"

Jack nodded and stepped forward uncertainly, trying to calm his daughter though it was obvious that his attempts seemed to be upsetting her more

"Mommy!" she cried desperately her arms flailing "Mommy please stop I promise I'll be good please Mommy"

Jack stepped away from the bed his eyes wide and uncertain and Rose stepped forward unable to watch the girl suffer any more, she knew she wasn't her mother but perhaps the sound of a feminine voice would help calm her

"Callie sweetie, you're okay" She ran a hand over her sweaty forehead "Mommy's here and I promise you're going to be okay, you are so brave and I am so proud of you but you need to calm down and let the doctors take care of you" it seemed to work and she slowly calmed down leaning into Rose's touch.

Rose bent down and kissed her forehead as she stepped back and let the doctors do they're work. She looked up to Jack to try and comfort him

But he was gone.

**Hope 2200 words is worth the wait. Let me know if anyone is still interested in this story… **


	8. Chapter 8

She found him leaning against the rail at the stern of the ship

"Jack?" he jumped and turned to face her, it was obvious he had been crying

"Jack its okay" she soothed moving closer to him. He immediately tensed and stepped away from her

"No it's not okay Goddamnit, I left her again Rose! I let her down again! How is that possibly okay?" he yelled, running a hand over his face.

"Okay, maybe it's not okay but Jack you have to make it okay. She's your daughter, you're all she has in the world, and she needs her dad to be there for her, you can't avoid this. I understand what you're going through, I do-

Jack scoffed "How could you possibly understand? With your perfect daughter and your perfect relationship, how could you possibly know what this feels like?"

The venom in his voice stung and it set her back a few paces. He stared at her expectantly, daring her to answer.

She inhaled, this was not how she had wanted to tell him "Emily's father, my husband, left when she was four weeks old and I haven't seen or heard from him since. It hasn't been easy Jack, not by any stretch and I can't imagine how hard it's been for you and Callie but you can't just walk away, she needs her daddy, she needs you to be there for her" she held her hand out to him "You jump, I jump right?"

The corners of his mouth turned upwards, it wasn't quite a smile but it was something, and he slipped his hand into hers.

As they made their way along the deck she could feel his hesitation and she squeezed his hand "It'll be okay"

He opened his mouth to reply but was interrupted when Emily bust out of the infirmary "They're you are! It's Callie, she's waking up!"

Jack had dropped her hand and raced into the infirmary before she had a chance to react.

By the time she entered the room he was by her bedside her hand clasped in his desperately coaxing her to wake up.

Emily also made her way to the head of the bed but Rose moved closer to the end where Cora was sat on her knees, she had been in the same position since they had come aboard the vessel and hadn't said a word since.

"C'mon sweetie, we'll just wait of here" the little girl looked up at her fearfully and Rose gently lifted her off the bed as Callie groaned in pain.

"Come on Callie, baby, it's okay, just wake up, please?"

It took a few moments but eventually she did open her eyes, moaning painfully

"What happened?" her voice was hoarse

"The ship sank sweetie, you're on the Carpathia, do you remember anything?"

She closed her eyes and breathed heavily and for a moment it appeared she had fallen asleep "Cora"

"She's right here sweetie" Rose gently nudged her in the direction of the bed.

"Is she okay?" her words were laced with exhaustion as they became more drawn out. With the little energy that she had remaining she stretched out a hand which with one more encouraging nudge from Rose Cora stepped forward and took in her own smaller hand , tears running down her cheeks.

Callie also let out a sob and pulled her as close to her as she could wrapping her arms around her "Oh thank God you're okay" she brushed her matted hair from her eyes "You were so brave sweetie, so brave and I am so proud of you" Cora just continued to cry burying her head in Callie's shoulder.

"Ssh sweetie It's gonna be okay, I promise" she whispered soothingly running her fingers through her hair.

Rose stepped forward and placed her hand on Cora's shoulder "Sweetie now that Callie's awake why don't we go and get you something to eat and get some sleep?"

Cora shook her head, still buried in Callie's shoulder "Cora, sweetie go with Rose and Emily okay? I promise everything will be alright go eat and sleep and then you can come right back okay? You can bring me some pudding"

Eventually she convinced her and she left the room with Rose and Emily leaving Callie with Jack

"Did you find her parents?"

Jack shook his head sadly "No they weren't on any of the survivor lists"

"Damn" she closed her eyes again as stray tear leaking down her cheek

Jack leant forward and brushed it with his thumb, wincing as she tensed at his touch "what happened out there Callie?"

"Dad-

"Callie, I'm so sorry I wasn't there when I should've been there"

"Why weren't you?"

"What?"

"Why weren't you there? I mean, God dad I was terrified, more terrified than I think I've ever been and then I had to try and take care of Cora. There were people dying around me, and then the ship sank and we were in the water" she paused as she remembered the feeling of the freezing cold water "God it was so cold, you can't even imagine how cold it was and I had to try and fight for both of us and you weren't there, you're never there"

"I'm so sorry, Callie, I am so so sorry. I tried to find you but they wouldn't let me back down"

"So what? You got yourself on a boat? Who cares about her now I've got myself a new shiny family"

He opened his mouth to protest but was interrupted by the doctor "Ah Miss Dawson, you're awake. How are you feeling?"

"Fine" her voice was flat as she avoided all eye contact with Jack. The doctor noticed the tension immediately "Mr Dawson would you mind stepping out for a few moments, I'd like to speak with Callie privately"

Jack looked from the doctor to his daughter who had rolled over onto her side away from him

He walked out of the room without a word and collapsed onto a bench on the deck wondering if his broken relationship with his daughter was beyond repair.


	9. Chapter 9

Her lungs were on fire, was the first thing she was aware of. Then she discovered that her body felt like lead.

She tried to open her eyes but her body seemed to be unwilling to follow commands.

She groaned. Oh God what was going on? This was beyond all realms of pain ever felt before.

Then she felt a warm hand in her own and a soft murmur though she couldn't make out the words.

Was she dead?

No she couldn't be dead, death couldn't hurt this much.

Finally her eyes managed to open a crack but a bright white light blinded her.

Oh God she was dead. She groaned again and forced her eyes open fully.

"Callie?" she knew that voice, she tried to speak but again her lungs burned and all that came out was a rough cough.

A straw was placed to her lips and she drank gratefully.

A hand ran over her head gently and the figure appeared in her field of vision once more, only more clearly this time

"Dad" it hurt even more to speak and the word was barely a scratchy whisper.

Jack smiled softly "Hey, you"

"Where… am I" her throat burned once more as she was overcome by a coughing fit.

Jack rubbed her forearm soothingly "You're in the hospital in New York kiddo, the ship docked yesterday and they transferred you here by ambulance"

She silent for a moment as she processed the information, her eyes closed for a long moment and Jack thought she'd fallen back asleep but her eyes fluttered open again

"Cora"

"She's in the cafeteria with Rose and Emily she's hardly left your side"

"Oh"

He lowered himself into the chair by the bed and pulled himself closer to him "How are you feeling kiddo, you like crap" as asked lightly trying to lessen the obvious tension

"Look.. better…. Than… you" she wasn't far wrong, he hadn't slept showered nor shaved in days but he scoffed

"Not possible"

"What happened out there Callie?"

Callie was about to respond but was cut off when the door opened and Rose, Emily and Cora entered.

Rose gasped and quickly made her way over to the bed "Oh sweetie, thank God you're okay! We were so worried about you, how do you feel" she immediately started fussing over her and Callie recoiled slightly, she wasn't used to such care and attention.

Her eyes glanced around the room and she caught sight of Cora trying to hind behind Emily's leg near the doorway.

"Cora" she breathed, Emily smiled and grabbed the little girl's hand "See I told you she'd be okay." She said told her smiling

With the little energy she had remaining Callie stretched her hand out from the bed towards her Cora stared at it before looking up to Emily with wide tearful eyes "Go on" Emily smiled encouragingly

Finally the girl took a few tentative steps towards Callie's bedside keeping her eyes to the floor "Oh sweetie" she grabbed her hand and pulled her to her chest ignoring the agony the move caused "Oh sweetie, I'm so glad you're okay, I'm so sorry that happened to you" for the first time since the sinking began she could feel tears stinging the backs of her eyes and it wasn't long before she felt Cora's warm tears through her hospital gown.

It was only a few minutes before exhaustion crept into her body again and she was overcome with another coughing fit and Rose ushered the girls out of the room with promises to visit first thing in the morning.

Jack stayed behind watching his daughter sleep already anticipating the long winding road to recovery ahead of them.

00000

The days following their arrival in New York were long and treacherous as Callie recovered from both the pneumonia and the hypothermia. On the occasions that she was awake she treated Jack with what could only be described as a cold indifference and refused to discuss what had happened during the sinking.

Cora had still not said a word to the concern of everyone although the child therapist had assured them that it was normal given the trauma that she had gone through though it had done little to ease their concern- especially Callie's.

They were currently sitting in Callie's hospital room, Cora on the bed her head resting on Callie's chest, Callie stroking her hair, the others were all seated around the room an awkward silence lingering in the air.

Just when the silence was bordering on unbearable there was a knock on the door and a very proper looking man entered "I'm looking for a miss Calliope Dawson"

Callie cringed at the use of her full name "That's me"

The man's gaze focused solely on her "Miss Dawson, I'm Alexander Jones I'm representing survivors of the Titanic disaster"

He paused but continued when no-one said anything "I don't know if you're aware but there are trials being held, White Star Line are being sued by the state and we need you to testify"

"Testify?"

"Yes, I understand that it would be difficult for you but any information we can get will bring us a step closer to justice and possibly even compensation"

Callie paused processing the information. Testify? Could she do it? She hadn't spoken of the experience yet, hadn't really let herself think about it, it was still too fresh in her mind, too raw, too painful. But if it would help bring justice for those who had died, Tommy Ryan, Cora's parents? She looked down at the little girl, she was clinging to her hospital gown, staring blankly out the window, her eyes bloodshot. According to Rose she had woken up screaming with nightmares every night and wouldn't go back to sleep afterward…

She inhaled "What do I have to do?"

"Testify at the hearing at the courthouse the day after tomorrow"

By this time her doctor had entered "No absolutely not Miss Dawson, you are in no way healthy enough to even leave the hospital let alone-

"I'll sign myself out. I can do that right?"

The doctor hesitated "Well you can sign yourself out Against Medical Advice.."

"I'll do that" her voice left no room for argument

"Well you are still considered a minor, we'd need a parent or guardian's signature"

"Fine" she looked at Jack who had yet to say anything, daring him to disagree, challenging him.

Jack looked hesitant "Callie, I don't know…"

Callie rolled her eyes "For God's sake now is not the time to act like a concerned parent just sign the damn forms."

Jack blanched but got up and left the room, Rose quickly following behind.

"Are you really that mad at him?" Emily asked quietly once they had left "He wasn't there"

"He tried…"

"You don't get it" Callie interrupted "It wasn't just that, he's never been there. Not when I was little, not when my mother died" she sighed "He's never been there. So yes I am mad at him can you just drop it please?"

Emily sighed and leant back in the chair, she hadn't known Callie that long but in the short time she had she could already tell that she was a force to be reckoned with and that no amount of pushing would help change her mind.


End file.
